Segmentation of urinary bladder in CT Urography (CTU) using CLASS

Lubomir Hadjiiski; Heang-Ping Chan; Yuen Law; Richard H. Cohan; Elaine M. Caoili; Hyun-Chong Cho; Chuan Zhou; Jun Wei

doi:10.1117/12.912847

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23 February 2012 Segmentation of urinary bladder in CT Urography (CTU) using CLASS

Lubomir Hadjiiski, Heang-Ping Chan, Yuen Law, Richard H. Cohan, Elaine M. Caoili, Hyun-Chong Cho, Chuan Zhou, Jun Wei

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Proceedings Volume 8315, Medical Imaging 2012: Computer-Aided Diagnosis; 83150J (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.912847
Event: SPIE Medical Imaging, 2012, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We are developing a computerized system for bladder segmentation on CTU, as a critical component for computer aided diagnosis of bladder cancer. A challenge for bladder segmentation is the presence of regions without contrast (NC) and filled with IV contrast (C). We are developing a Conjoint Level set Analysis and Segmentation System (CLASS) specifically for this application. CLASS performs a series of image processing tasks: preprocessing, initial segmentation, and 3D and 2D level set segmentation and post-processing, designed according to the characteristics of the bladder in CTU. The NC and the C regions of the bladder were segmented separately in CLASS. The final contour is obtained in the post-processing stage by the union of the NC and C contours. Seventy bladders (31 containing lesions, 24 containing wall thickening, and 15 normal) were segmented. The performance of CLASS was assessed by rating the quality of the contours on a 5-point scale (1= "very poor", 3= "fair", 5 = "excellent"). For the 53 partially contrast-filled bladders, the average quality ratings for the 53 NC and 53 C regions were 4.0±0.7 and 4.0±1.0, respectively. 46 NC and 41 C regions were given quality ratings of 4 or above. Only 2 NC and 5 C regions had ratings under 3. The average quality ratings for the remaining 12 completely no contrast (NC) and 5 completely contrast-filled (C) bladder contours were 3.3±1.0 and 3.4±0.5, respectively. After combining the NC and C contours for each of the 70 bladders, 46 had quality ratings of 4 or above. Only 4 had ratings under 3. The average quality rating was 3.8±0.7. The results demonstrate the potential of CLASS for automated segmentation of the bladder.

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Lubomir Hadjiiski, Heang-Ping Chan, Yuen Law, Richard H. Cohan, Elaine M. Caoili, Hyun-Chong Cho, Chuan Zhou, and Jun Wei "Segmentation of urinary bladder in CT Urography (CTU) using CLASS", Proc. SPIE 8315, Medical Imaging 2012: Computer-Aided Diagnosis, 83150J (23 February 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.912847

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